The Flame of Youth
by Uskius
Summary: Naruto survives the Fourth Great Ninja War, but with heavy injuries. He is placed under Shizune's care, and she does all she can to keep him from going under. Naruto/Shizune. Somewhere between T and M, I went with T.


****AUTHOR'S NOTE** **Well, this will probably be weird, bad, whatever. I'm just _typing _right now. So, to explain more fully, this will pretty much be NarutoxShizune and then Naruto singing power metal lyrics as he goes on a rampage. So actually yeah, this will be pretty lame. lol But that hasn't stopped me before. For added fun, you are now hearing this in the voice of manwithoutabody, and if you don't know him then being sung by ZP Theart from DragonForce(for Naruto) and Sharon from Within Temptation(for Shizune).

**NARUTO: THE FLAME OF YOUTH**

Lost in a silent dream, to Naruto it seemed like all his memories were behind a wall too close to breaking down. They swam in an endless sea of agony not meant to be survived, yet still not enough to destroy forever the warrior inside. Visions of pain and fear, ghosts of forgotten fantasies; slowly the stars faded away, on the winds of a broken destiny. _AH!_

Shizune heard Naruto moan in his sleep, in the way of people who are screaming in their dreams. _His pulse is normal, still..._ Shizune sighed. Despite whatever the young man would say to the contrary, he was showing all the classic signs of severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as having suffered heavy injuries during the final battle. And... it had surprised her at first, to know the lovable knucklehead had finally buckled under the pressue he pretended didn't exist. Then... it surprised her that it didn't surprise her that her first thought upon him being placed in her care was to give him a hug. Though, she knew she would have to work her way up to that, after all he'd been through. Sakura was still grieving in her own way, and wasn't available as she and Tsunade were working themselves to exhaustion healing the wounded. "Naruto... I don't know, if you can hear me now- but I'll be here and waiting if you ever need to talk."

So the dam broke open, years too soon, and Naruto was swept away in the tide. "No.. no, I'm still here... Sas..." Her sigh sounding a wistful tune, Shizune looked at the time. It was once again the dark, eternal night. No moon to cast a light.

Seized by a sudden desire Shizune strode to Naruto's side, an ignored longing to comfort and sympathy in her eyes. _This isn't professional, but medicine can't heal a broken heart!_ As gentle as a moonbeam's dream, Shizune held his slumbering head in her hands and kissed him upon the lips. The act done, she decided she would kiss him goodnight until he was well enough to face the world on his own.

Naruto opened his eyes; the night now seemed so far away. "Where...? The hospital... that's right." And, he blinked against the morning light. To his left was a woman... a woman- _Oh, it's her!_ The familiar face was smiling at him, and he called her name: "Shizune! Good morning..."

"I'm glad to see you're awake this early, Naruto. But, now I have to run some tests, you know?" Collecting her stethoscope and blood pressure equipment, she was at his side in not even a minute. "Hold out your arm, please." The young man scowled, having a vague dislike of hospital stays, but even so the blond obeyed. The device was wrapped around his left biceps and velcroed in place, an concerned look upon the medic-nin's face, and she pumped up the sleeve until the needle danced upon the dial. The pressure slowly receded for a while, until she had the number that she needed. "You're blood pressure's normal for this time of day, good. Now, could you sit up for me Naruto?"

Naruto nodded and righted himself, too unsure to speak. _Is she being professional, or ashamed I was so weak?_ Shizune closed her eyes, and listened to his heart beat.

"Breathe in... breathe out..." Rustling up his shirt, the stethoscope came around to Naruto's back. Shivering at the cool touch, a fragment of a thought came to mind; of the battle he had fought, and couldn't leave behind. Shizune saw the signs, and had a hand before and behind to steady Naruto. "Don't forget to breathe..." Next came the test of his eyes: one finger was held up, for the wounded man to follow. It zigged and zagged to and fro, 'til with a smile it touched upon his nose. Naruto began to blush, then harrumphed! and turned away. "Ahem. Well then, it seems your vision is okay. Now how about some breakfast? I'm sure you're pretty hungry."

"Oh, yes, please! I'm starving! I feel like I haven't had anything to eat in years!" Right on cue, his stomach growled.

_And I'm hungry, too. I know- I'll have my cereal here you, Naruto. _"Alright," Shizune chuckled. "I'll be back soon with your ramen, Naruto." The woman could not help but smile at him, knowing just how strong Naruto tried to be and how strong he was.

_Why is she so happy today? She's a medic-nin and the war was just over a few days ago. Gah, everything's so crazy. Doesn't seem like anyone's who they used to be... Tsunade, Sakura... and..._ Without warning, the pain came back and like shuriken in a bloody war the tears began to fly. Struggling to regain control, Naruto cried and lost his hold the world beginning to grow cold as the nightmares dragged him through the fire and flames. Tension struck, choking him as the worries grew; a rapid heart beat pounding through his chest. Eventually through the veil of tears, Naruto sensed someone was in the room with him. He quickly dried his eyes.

Shizune had stood in the doorway for a moment, having just returned from retrieving the whole cart of ramen. _Naruto..._ He looked over towards her, and Shizune pushed the cart to his bedside. "Here's your ramen MOTHAFUCKAH! SUCK IT!"

Naruto shook his head. _She can't have actually said that, could she? It's not like her at all..._ "Uh, thanks, Shizune..." She attached the tray to his bed, and handed him a pair of chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!" They said in unison. _Hm, she's eating with me?_ For reasons Naruto did not quite understand, he thought the sight of Shizune eating seemed cute to him, and he told her so. She did a spit take, and blushed as she apologized and wiped off Naruto's face. Then, to keep things moving, he asked, "What kind of cereal is that? It looks delicious."

"Oh, it's Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. I'm indulging myself today, I guess." She smiled sheepishly, and took another bite. But as she found, she was handing Naruto more bowls of ramen almost as much as she was eating. Though, this did allow her Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs to soften, and she'd always loved soggy Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs.

"So... you're the only one treating me?"

"Yes. Lady Tsunade and Sakura have many- well, nearly the whole of our forces to take care of. I volunteered; your injuries were serious and Lady Tsunade was already wearing herself out healing everyone else."

Naruto nodded gratefully, and slurped up the rest of his ramen. he declined Shizune's offer for more, and fell back onto the bed. "Shizune... what were your teammates like when you were my age?"

"Well, at your age I'd just left with Lady Tsunade on her journey. And even before that, not too long after I became a chunin she had started training me. You know now that you mention it I've really only started doing team missions since returning to Konoha." Placing her now empty bowl of cereal back on the cart, Shizune tenderly held Naruto's gaze. "But remember- there was a war going on when I grew up, too- so if you need to talk, I'll be here."

"I'll remember..." The attention was making Naruto a little uncomfortable, even though it was welcome.

"Here: I'll take your bowls to the kitchen. Back in a moment, _weakling_."

_Huh, what? Did she really...?_ But as Shizune and the cart of empty ramen bowls rattled away, Naruto still could not tell.

Alas, Shizune did not return in a moment. The minutes wore on, getting longer as he waited for her to come back, and wondered if she really wanted to. It was after lunch when she entered his room again. "Oi, Shizune! Were where you? I thought you said it would be just a minute..."

"Naruto, if there was something I could have done to get back here sooner I would have, but Lady Tsunade called for me when I returned the cart and I had to assist her with healing Sasubvlieblrgity-" Shizune didn't like the distant and vacant look that was growing on Naruto's face, and came to his bedside.

Naruto's mind buzzed, blurring the name Shizune had spoken. "What if I had- if something happened while you were... Shi- Sh... Shizune, do you think I'm weak, letting things turn out like this..."

"No, Naruto! You're one of the strongest people I know, inside and out."

"...Yeah!" Naruto said, shaking his head and seeming more like himself for a moment. "I am the number one candidate for Hokage!"

Shizune smiled with him for a second. "Alright now, as I was going to do when I got back: this will be your last healing session- and that does _not_ mean you're free to go- here at the hospital, after which we'll start on your rehabilitation phase. Just relax now, okay?" Naruto nodded his cognizance, and relaxed against his pillow as Shizune held her hands over his stomach and began using the Mystical Palm Technique...

Later that evening, the sun had set. Naruto slept quietly in the moonlight, bandaged chest and torso rising and falling with his breath. Shizune had visited Naruto in the afternoon to play simple word association games, at which he proved a surprisingly tough opponent; mainly by finding ways to bring things back to ramen. It had been an enjoyable time for the both, and, when Shizune returned from making her report to Tsunade, Naruto was fast asleep. Smiling again, Shizune glided over the distance between them to Naruto's side. She whimsicoracally ran her fingers through his bright blond hair, then leaned down and kissed him upon the lips- his forehead was not available due to his bandages, or perhaps Shizune's lips would have landed there. Within Shizune's breast a warm and loving feeling beginning to grow; she suddenly wanted to hold him and stay by his side through the night, but she knew this was not possible and so she settled for giving him another kiss and retreating to the chair in which she sat during their word games.

The morning found Shizune escorting Naruto to a room containing balance balls and other equipment. Though it wasn't her area of expertise Shizune would be guiding Naruto through physical therapy as well, having been given a number of exercises for him.

"Hey, I remember this room." Naruto said to Shizune as they arrived. "This is where Bushy Brows did his rehab."

"Do you mean after his fight against Gaara in the chunin exams?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if these walls could talk I'm sure they would say they're honored to have a guest such as yourself here." Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. Checking the papers to see where to start, Shizune led her charge to a table and scooped up a ball along the way. "Alright, on your back... knees up, hold the ball between them..." Naruto made a scowly thinking face, but soon complied. "Now lift up your hips, and make sure you keep you stomach tight..." As the time went on, Shizune clearly saw Naruto was frustrated with the exercises and was trying to hide it.

Shizune turned to Naruto after putting the foam ball back on its rack. "Naruto? How would you like some dumplings? There's a place that's just reopened where we could go."

"What?" Naruto asked, suspicious. "I thought you said I wasn't ready to leave..."

"It should fine, because you're _not _going to be _running _all over the place. Besides, it should do you some good to get fresh air."

Naruto had to agree with her on that. "Alright. They're not ramen, but dumplings are okay." Smiling, Shizune opened the door and led the way.

Indeed, the dumplings had been delicious. But, though he tried to keep his thoughts off the recent events of the war, the villager's greetings to and from the dumplings shop kept reminding him. Back in his room Naruto watched the minutes come and the hours go, thoughts circling over the world below as the daylight faded away. And sooner than even he could know, the young shinobi's eyelids closed and his consciousness slowly slipped away. Between him and the window to the dark sky was a woman with dark hair and dark eyes: Shizune was her name. For now she meant to give him this: a gentle, loving, goodnight kiss, a touch without any shame. But as she placed her lips on his, a sweet and heart-felt goodnight kiss, her will became inflamed...

Dawn's rays streaming in from the window, Naruto awoke. Looking to his side he saw Shizune still asleep in the visitor's chair, head leaning back and to the left. _B'WHUH? She actually spent the night in my room! And why is there a faint fishy smell? Oh well..._ Naruto yawned and stretched, feeling already that he was hungry. _Huh... you know, she's actually kinda cute when she's sleeping, too._ Other memories of the Hokage's assistant coming to mind, Naruto just decided to officially recognize her as cute and move on before he got too distracted. "Hey, Shizune...!" She made a face in her sleep, and Naruto called louder.

"Hmmn? Oh! Uh, eheh! So I fell asleep, how about that? Good morning, Naruto." Naruto's stomach growled, and they both chuckled. "Ready for your morning ramen?"

"Actually," Naruto mused, "I think I want to try Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs today." Shizune smiled, and with a nod she rose and left the room, leaving behind some of the warmth in the curve of her lips. Thinking back over the time he had known her, Naruto began to realize just how much Shizune had looked after him, not only here in the hospital but in other places as well- like helping him out of the crack in the ground after he'd challenged Tsunade to a fight. Sooner than he was expecting, Shizune walked back into the room with the cereal on the cart. She started to attach the tray to Naruto's bed, but he stopped her. "Aw no thanks, I'll sit in a chair today." Sliding out of his bed Naruto did just that, scooting the other visitor's chair next to Shizune's and pouring her a bowl first and then an almost overflowing one for himself. He took in the brightly colored box and the tiger mascot shouting the slogan(_They'll blow your mind!_), and looked up to find Shizune was pouring milk on his bowl. "Thanks, Shizune." He said, as she handed him a spoon. "Itadakimasu!" They said with a grin, and dug in to their cereal. "Whoa!" Exclaimed Naruto, with his mouth full. "These are like the ramen of cereals! I love it!"

A smile spreading across her face like jam on a biscuit, Shizune began to realize how much she liked seeing Naruto happy, and of the people who made him happy. "Naruto, yesterday evening, I visited Lady Tsunade. She told me that Sasbligglnertgosnvsh opened his eyes..." Naruto recognized the name faintly as it filtered through, and for a moment he paused while eating. "And, he spoke, too. He asked, 'Where is he?' He's getting better, Naruto. I think today would be a good day for you to visit Sasnraglefipzlebzzzzz."

"O- okay..." Naruto replied, a vacant and distant look on his face. He then resumed eating his bowl of cereal, but with less gusto than before.

And so, after his morning rehab session and lunch, Naruto and Shizune walked across the hospital for the visit. Shizune knocked once and opened the door, following Naruto in. The boy on the bed was still in nearly as many bandages as Naruto had been, but his eyes were open and watching them. Sensing the heavy emotions in the air, Shizune whispered, "I'll be outside..." and left the room- hearing a breathy "I'm sorry..." Peeking through the blinds, she saw Naruto was crying, and he said four syllables which she couldn't quite pick up.

The rest of the day, Naruto was oddly silent, only speaking when spoken to. Shizune tried not to be excessively cheerful around him, knowing that would only exacerbate the problem. Still, she remained close by Naruto through his afternoon rehab session and the rest of the day, wanting to hold him more than ever. His breathing falling into a still pattern late at night again, Shizune approached to give him his goodnight kiss, her face hovering over his for a moment. Then she kissed him- perhaps a little more passionately than she had originally intended- and whispered, "I love you, Naruto..."

The kunoichi turned to exit the room, but froze in place upon hearing her name. "Shizune... I'm still awake..."

"N- N- Naruto, let me explain-"

"No, I- I think I understand... Shizune, thanks for taking care of me..."

She turned back to him then, a tight burning feeling deep in her gut. Leaning down, she held Naruto's head in her hands, gazing into his eyes with longing. "Could I...?"

His emotions tired, Naruto simply nodded, and let himself be kissed; it was a deeper, slower kiss than the first, her tongue playing with his lips. As the kiss extended on and on, Naruto timidly began to move his lips against hers, Shizune's tongue darting in and brushing against his. Still longer Shizune drew out the kiss, minutes passing by in breathtaking silence, until she felt her desire to slide into Naruto's hospital bed and move against him was greater than her desire to continue the kiss. Standing back from him, Shizune mouthed "goodnight" before leaving the room swiftly. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, partly because of what she had done but mostly because she knew the young man she loved did not need her in the same way she wanted to give herself to him.

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he looked across the room at the clock. It was eight forty-two in the morning. Glancing to the side, he half-expected Shizune to be there but at the moment she was absenthe from Naruto's hospital room. He blushed at the memory of the "goodnight" kiss, very embarrassed and a little disappointed his first kiss(_Well, with a girl, anyways-_) hadn't been Sakura. He then began wondering if Shizune would kiss him again, and if he would be okay with that. But just as he was going to make his decision on the subject there was a knock on the door, and Shizune came in behind the food cart loaded with ramen.

"Good morning, Naruto! Sorry I'm a little late today, I got held up talking to Lady Tsunade..." She said, rolling up to his bedside. Seeing the distant look on his face again, she asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Oh, eheh yeah! I was just um, thinking about... well, you know... when you..."

Shizune took a calming breath before speaking. "Naruto, on many levels I shouldn't have done what I did, so I apologize. And... well, I had been giving you a kiss goodnight the last few nights- so, when you'd said you were awake I just couldn't help myself."

Not sure why he was saying it, Naruto said, "Well, you _did_ ask before, uh, so..." _Wait, WHAT?_ "Back up a second, did you say you'd been kissing me the last few nights too?"

"Not so loud!" Shizune cautioned, looking through the window to see if anyone had heard. "And... yes. Yes I had."

"...You didn't do anything else, did you?" _Why is she blushing? Just answer already!_

"Naruto..." _I'll say it again._ "I love you. So just relax and enjoy your breakfast, okay?" An vaguely suspicious look on his face, Naruto accepted the bowl of ramen offered by Shizune. She took a bowl for herself, and snapped open her chopsticks. "Itadakimasu, bitch!"

_Wha- gaaah, I'm hearing things again! What the heck's going on?_ Naruto shook his head and then busied himself with his morning meal.

"When I was speaking with Lady Tsunade," Shizune started, as she handed Naruto his third bowl of ramen. "She mentioned that Sasroflcopteritis wanted to see you again today. Would you like to go after your morning session?"

But Naruto was once again staring off into the distance, the name being buzzed away as this thoughts returned to where they had been before Shizune's entrance. Absentmindedly he continued ingesting his ramen, barely hearing what Shizune was saying. And suddenly, though he'd only eaten five bowls of ramen, he wasn't hungry anymore. He vaguely heared Shizune say "okay?" and he just nodded as he got up and put his unfinished sixth bowl of ramen back on the cart. He heard himself mumble something about his morning therapy session, and then they were leaving for the room.

Shizune could tell Naruto was operating on auto-pilot, and wondered if it was something she said that had done it. _Nothing unusual, I only mentioned another visit after his therapy session, and- oh! I said I loved him, didn't I? I didn't think much of it, because, well, I do- but Naruto, he's been rejected his whole life, and then there's that Haruno girl... oh, what was I thinking..._ Shizune sighed, and opened the door to the physical therapy room. She too was preoccupied during the session, merely checking to see if Naruto was performing the exercises correctly instead of encouraging him to finish. She stayed outside the room during his visit afterwards, only hearing faint murmurs; but when Naruto exited the room Shizune saw his eyes were red before he turned away. After lunch and his afternoon therapy session Shizune was almost afraid to leave him alone for the evening, but she knew he would need space. Supper had been long and slow, Naruto only finishing two bowls of ramen and that upon her insistance. The tension was pulling Shizune apart, between knowing what lines she was willing to and shouldn't cross in her care of Naruto. So she had settled for staying close by in his room after supper, smiling gently if he looked her way but remaining silent, lost in thought. So the hours had passed like that, the sunlight slowly fading outside until the fluorescent lights of the room were the greater of the two. Rising and stepping over to his bedside, Shizune asked, "Are you awake, Naruto?" The young man's eyes had been closed for the last several minutes.

They cracked open. "Yeah..."

"It's getting late, so I'll be leaving for the night." Shizune hesitated for a moment. "Goodnight." She leaned down and kissed Naruto on the cheek. Then unexpectedly, before she could turn to leave Naruto pulled her down and kissed her on the lips, his teeth banging against hers at first before his lips squirmed into a much more natural position. The kiss broke through Shizune's resolve like a wrecking ball, and before she knew it she was in his bed on top of him kissing him with the passion she had been holding back all day. For what seemed like an eternity but was really only a few relatively short moments the embrace continued, before Shizune managed to stay away when coming up to breathe. "Naruto, I- I shouldn't...! You're still a patient here, and-"

"Is that all I am, some charity case you're taking care of to make yourself feel better?"

"Naruto, no! You know me better than that, _I_ know _you_ better than that! I've... got my whole career to think of, and you're still young you've got your whole life ahead of you!" Shizune began to tear up, looking into Naruto's eyes. "And I don't want you to have to hear what people would say if you did this with me here, you... what about Sakura? What would Kakashi and Sasuke think of you?"

Hearing the name of his injured teammate stung Naruto, and he flung Shizune off of him into one of the visitor's chairs as he stood and faced a window. "I dont know! _I DON'T KNOW!_" Yellow chakra flames began to lick up Naruto's legs, spreading until he was consumed in the blaze. He maliciously shattered the reinforced window with a punch, and then leapt off into the night. Quickly Shizune went after him, nimbly springing through the shattered window and scanning the area as she fell- it wasn't hard to find Naruto, as he was lighting up the town like a bonfire. Literally; he was indiscriminately attacking buildings and the surrounding environment. The rampaging patient was faster than anyone she'd seen in person, but just barely she was able to track him and intercept him on his projected path.

"Naruto! Calm down and come back to the hospital, or you'll just aggravate your injuries!"

"No! For once in my life I don't care, nothing matters- I _will_ dare! Now get out of my way!" Naruto blew past her, knocking the medic-nin on her back. With a Rasengan, he destroyed a random nondescript building and moved on.

_He's moving so erratically... but if there's one place he will go..._ Shizune recovered, and in a few moments was near the Hokage Monument, setting a few wire traps. Using the wreckage of Konoha as a guide, once again Shizune just barely managed to calculate Naruto's path and intercept him. "Naruto, stop! Do you really want to do this to the people you lov-"

"I- I- I don't care! Everyone I love always ends up getting hurt or killed anyways! My parents! Iruka! Jiraiya-sensei!" 

"That's not your fault, Naruto! You're not the kind of monster who does this!"

"I've marched to wars and seen hundreds of people die, but I wasn't there when Jiraiya-sensei died! And, maybe I am a monster- I did this to- to Sasuke! I'm just a demon of of anger, used like some weapon in a fight!" Naruto threw a Rasenshuriken at another random nondescript building, and flashed away.

_If he keeps up this pace there won't be much left to destroy...!_ Preparing a far less potent version of her Poison Mist technique, Shizune darted around the remaining areas of Konoha still standing, the dark purple mist all but invisible as it was released into the air. Her projections of his warpath right on target, Naruto sped through an alley filled with the toxic mist. He coughed once. Guessing he would target the monument next, Shizune avoided her own traps and set herself up facing the village just in time for Naruto to come racing towards her. As he crashed through one of the traps, the poles the wires were attached to snapped. They spun around him, wrapping him up until the poles banged against each other and had Naruto struggling to break free.

"Ghh- get me out of this, Shizune! I- I have to-"

"You don't have to, Naruto!"

"No, yes! I've been treated like a monster and told I was one my whole life, and now I've finally become one! Shouldn't you be happy? I guess after fighting bastards like Madara Uchiha and Kabuto for so long it was only a matter of time- you what they say about 'he who fights monsters'-"

"Naruto don't believe '_them_', listen to my words: _you_ are the only one who could have saved the world! Feeling rage because you couldn't save everyone or had to face a friend in battle doesn't make you a monster! It makes you human, it means you cared enough to try your best!" But even as she spoke, Naruto was forming chakra arms and untangling himself from her wires.

"Well if I'm not a monster then why was I born into a _world of DEMONS?_" Shaking loose from the wires, Naruto formed a Giant Rasengan and made an impossibly high leap towards the monument. "This is for not finishing off Madara!" He screamed, as he came up against the First Hokage's face, a hail of boulders raining down after the explosion. Bursting through the haze of dust, Naruto flew past Shizune's attempt to catch him and headed for the Third Hokage's head. Another Giant Rasengan prepared, he roared, "This is for never telling me about my parents!" As the devastating technique connected, Shizune could guess which head he was going for next, if Naruto would still attack the monument. Even though Shizune was fast by any standard, Naruto outstripped her in the race to Tsunade's head.

"Naruto, wait!"

"I can't wait anymore, Shizune! I feel like I'm going to die, and I have to _do_ something- if they say I'm only a demon, then they'll never forget me! The whole town will be bloodstained!"

_"I feel like I'm going to die!" Naruto, just hold on!_ Now caught up to Naruto Shizune placed herself between him and the rest of Tsunade's face. "Please don't do this Naruto, I want to help you! If you stop I could-"

"No, someone has to pay! It's time for the judgement to pass for the tears that I cried for this world that rejected me!" Getting the balance between white and black chakra correct for the first time, a Tailed Beast Rasengan began to form between two chakra arms growing from Naruto's shoulders.

Shizune's jaw trembled, and she threw out her arms to the side. "Th- then I'll pay the price!"

"And why do you think you'll be enough? Huh?"

Feeling like her heart was trying to pound its way out of her chest, Shizune said, "Because I love you!" The two ninja leapt towards each other, Shizune reaching for Naruto even as the Tailed Beast Rasengan inched closer and closer towards her. And as it neared Shizune the Tailed Beast Rasengan began to dwindle; at the last second the chakra arms shoved the attack into the mountain-side and Shizune embraced Naruto, kissing him as the monument exploded behind them and they plummeted down to the earth.

A week had passed since then, and Naruto was back in the hospital. This time Shizune didn't keep herself from holding Naruto or giving him a kiss on the cheek if she felt like it: he was in Tsunade's care this time, Shizune was there as a loved one and not a professional medic-nin. She hardly ever left his bedside, and every morning they had copious amounts of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs for breakfast. One morning as they feasted on their bowls of the cereal, Naruto asked with his mouth full "So where do you buy these? I've got to get me some once I leave here."

"You can get them at the general store, and they're not too expensive. I usually buy a few boxes and save them for eating when I'm feeling down."

_That reminds me..._ "Shizune... thank you for... paying the price..."

Shizune blinked and looked down at her bowl. "Naruto... I think I misspoke." She smiled warmly, and looked into his eyes. "A true friend doesn't have a price- because there isn't one to pay."

**THE END**


End file.
